Chesapeake Energy news: The US Securities and Exchange Commission has intensified the current investigation concerning Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) and CEO Aubrey McClendon. The legal probe is looking for evidence surrounding a scheme that assigned the CEO an important amount of shares in each of the gas wells developed by the firm. Further inquiries have been carried out nine days after the state agency’s filing declared the CEO free of any wrongdoing.
Suspicion surrounding Aubrey McClendon’s activities was raised by a Reuter’s independent investigation, carried out last April. The report indicated that the CEO had borrowed $1 billion from EIG Global Energy, an investor at Chesapeake, using the Founder Well Participation Program as collateral.
Now, SEC regulators have focused their investigation around the FWPP, which grants the CEO up to 2.5% interest in each drilled well by Chesapeake. Additionally, the firm has announced the program will come to an end in June 2014. And, since the beginning of the probe, stock price has dropped 2%.
On a more colorful note, Oklahoma State University of Technology has opened the Chesapeake Energy Natural Gas Compression Training Center. The facility counts 24,000 square-feet and serves the purpose of addressing specific educational needs in the natural gas compression industry.
The project started last year, after Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN), ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE), and Energy Transfer donated additional funds. “We are grateful for the generosity of our energy industry partners,” said Oklahoma State University (OSU) President Burns Hargis.
“The new training center will enable OSUIT to more effectively teach students the technical skills necessary to maintain and operate natural gas engines and gas compressor units in an industry-quality laboratory,” OSUIT’s President, Dr. Bill Path.
“We are pleased to join with other energy companies to invest in technical education,” said Jerry Winchester, Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Oilfield Services. “As America’s natural gas production grows, it is more important than ever that we have a trained workforce assisting with the safe and reliable transfer of natural gas to markets.”
Disclosure: Jodor Jalit holds no position in any of the mentioned stocks.
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